ABOUT TESNI

Degree: BA (Hons) Live Events Production

Desired Location: Although currently based between North Wales and Wakefield, I am able and willing to work in any part of the country and am happy to relocate for work.

Strengths: My strengths are particularly in production management, coordination and organisation. I am a meticulous individual and take great pride in my work. I’m also a strong communicator and listener, and thrive in busy, fast-paced and ever-changing work environments. I enjoy working as part of a team, but am also able to work well independently, make autonomous decisions and am an efficient problem-solver. 

Dream role: My dream role would be a production or tour manager. Artist management, festival management and stage management does also very much appeal to me.

Dream Project: I think my dream project would be an arena sized concert tour where I’m a part of either the artist and tour management team or the production management team. Being a part of the production team on a large festival and working its entire lifecycle from start to finish would also be a great project to work on.

In 5 years time... I’d like to have worked my way up to be in a project or production management or coordination role with a large scale events company, specialising in concert touring, festivals or corporate events.

Tesni has proved herself a very competent project, production and health and safety manager on a number of internal and external projects throughout her time at Backstage Academy. Any live events project would be safe in her hands.

Johnny Goodwin, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Live Events Production

If you would like to contact Tesni about an opportunity, please email us and we will connect you with her.

Question Time...

What first attracted you to a career within the live events industry?

From a young age I spent a lot of time attending events both as a performer and attendee. The feeling of community that is present within any event team is like none other that I’ve experienced before, and the atmosphere and feeling you experience from a live event of any capacity is truly unmatched. I’ve been drawn to this industry by my desire and real passion to be able to bring these crazy and wonderful, and for some life-changing experiences to audiences, and to be able to do this while working amongst teams of enthusiastic and like-minded individuals is exactly where I want to forge my career.

What first attracted you to Backstage Academy?

The thing that initially struck me so significantly about Backstage Academy is that it wasn’t a University that taught it’s students from the ‘outside looking in’ on the industry; the University itself is placed amongst a campus of some major players within the industry, and I really felt as though Backstage was a part of the industry itself, and that being a student there would provide me with experiences I likely wouldn’t find elsewhere and give me unrivalled access into the world of live events.

What first attracted you to the course you studied?

I was attracted to the ‘Live Events Production’ course as it appeared to give a really well-rounded teaching in the key areas of the live events industry with modules such as lighting, sound and video, along with concept design and event planning modules as well. Although I felt my interest was predominantly in the management and coordination of events, when introduced to the live events production course, I felt that it could only be beneficial for me to have a solid grounding in the technical departments too to help inform my decision making and approach to potentially managing future events with technical elements.

What were the highlights during your time at Backstage Academy?

Although there are many highlights I could mention, a particularly notable highlight for me is the event myself and my group for the ‘Production Planning and Realisation’ module put on in our second year. Our event - ‘Music of the Movies’ - featured around 140 performers from Wakefield Youth Music Services, and took place at Wakefield Cathedral. The nature of the venue, the number of performers, the technical elements, and everything in between meant the project was a great challenge for us all, however I felt such a great sense of achievement once we completed the event to a sold out audience, and learnt so much from the experience; lessons I took forward into my third year, and will continue to reflect upon as I graduate into the professional world. Another highlight for me is the number of different work experience placements I have been able to undertake during my time at Backstage, all of which have helped me to progress as a professional and individual, and have provided me with some unforgettable experiences!

What work experience have you had during your time at Backstage Academy?

I have undertaken a great deal of work experience during my time at Backstage Academy, from installing LED strips into ‘The 1975’s’ touring set to working at Download Festival. I have undertaken work experience at festivals including We Are FSTVL, Latitude Festival, Boomtown Festival, Long Division Festival, Download Festival, as well as overseas events including ‘Gron Koncert’ and Outlook Festival and Dimensions Festival in Croatia, along with non festival experiences including a couple of dates of Roger Waters’ ‘Us + Them’ UK tour, an internship with Brilliant Stages and Beyonce and Jay-Z’s ‘On The Run II’ tour in London, plus much more. During my first year, I undertook work experience in all fields, including technical and production areas, and progressed during my second year into predominantly production assistant/coordinator and office roles. My internship as a Project Coordinator with Brilliant Stages, working as a production assistant at Boomtown Fair Festival, working in the production office and with the team on the Roger Waters ‘Us + Them’ tour, and my position as site office assistant at Wilderness Festival are really notable experiences for me where I was given real responsibilities and learnt a great deal about being an independent professional in the world of work, and which also gave me an insight into the kind of areas of the industry I would like to work in.

Which companies have you worked with/for during your time at Backstage Academy?

During my time at Backstage Academy, I have worked for companies including Brilliant Stages and Production Park, VIP Nation, The Needs Group (Artist Needs), MAMA Festivals, Juliette Backstage, Loh Humm audio company, and many more.

What is your proudest achievement from your time at Backstage Academy?

I have had many experiences whilst at Backstage which fill me with a great deal of pride; picking one is tricky! However coordinating Backstage’s Freshers’ Week in 2018 definitely stands out. At the end of my first year, myself and a friend of mine were selected to manage Freshers’ Week for the Universities new intake of students. We were given responsibility for every aspect of the week, from deciding the content of the week, to venue finding, technical planning, budget management, team management of a group of around 20 volunteers, ticketing and sales, marketing, talent booking and management, and so much more. The week placed a great deal of responsibility on me that I hadn’t experienced before, and really pushed me out of my comfort zone at the time, however the response we got to the week in ticket sales and the realisation of the week itself made me feel extremely proud of myself and the entire team who had helped bring the week to life. Although we came up against all odds including building power cuts, last minute venue relocation and activity creation, technical issues and everything in between, the week went ahead and was enjoyed by so many. It’s definitely something I look back on with pride, and I learnt so much from it; it really was an invaluable experience.

What is the best career advice you have ever received?

I think the best career advice I’ve received is to never say no to any offer of work experience as a student. During my time at University I have taken this advice and undertaken so many different types of work experience, many being voluntary positions, and every placement has taught me something new, and been an invaluable lesson, so I think that was a great piece of advice to receive early on in my time at Backstage.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt?

Whilst Backstage Academy has taught me many valuable lessons, one of the most valuable is an insight into and experience working in teams and group work. Although often not easy, group work and working together as a team to achieve an end goal is so important and is present in the majority of things that we do, and I think will be something that I will do a great deal of during my career, therefore having experience of it and understanding some of the problems that can arise has been really valuable to me..